External quality assessment (EQA) or proficiency testing is widely considered to be necessary for International Normalised Ratio (INR) determinations performed in conventional laboratory settings. There is increasing use of near-patient-test (NPT) or point-of-care (POC) INR devices and it is not known whether EQA is also necessary for these monitors. We report here on six years experience of pr...

Protease activities in allergen sources are thought to be involved in triggering allergic inflammation through the disruption of epithelial barrier or the induction of proinflammatory cytokines. Protease allergens may also work as type 2 helper T cell (TH2) adjuvants through the cleavage of cell surface receptors. Here, we report molecular cloning and immunochemical characterization of a new Ja...

We identified a gene responsible for tolerance to boron (B) toxicity in rice (Oryza sativa), named BORON EXCESS TOLERANT1. Using recombinant inbred lines derived from the B-toxicity-sensitive indica-ecotype cultivar IR36 and the tolerant japonica-ecotype cultivar Nekken 1, the region responsible for tolerance to B toxicity was narrowed to 49 kb on chromosome 4. Eight genes are annotated in this...

The article proposes a modified Design-Based Research (DBR) framework which accommodates the various socio-cultural factors that emerged in the longitudinal PA-HELP research study at Central University College (CUC) in Ghana, Africa. A transnational team of stakeholders from Ghana, Canada, and the USA collaborated on the development, implementation, and subsequent modification of the DBR framew...

One hundred and twenty-one strains of ballistoconidiogenous yeasts were isolated from plant materials collected in Cuc Phuong National Park of Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam. Eighty-five strains selected for the morphology of their ballistoconidia and colony appearances were assigned to four genera: Bullera (39 strains), Kockovaella (5 strains), Sporobolomyces (39 strains) and Tilletiopsis (2 stra...

Utilising the population based data resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, we estimated survival and risk of subsequent colon cancer in the 182 residents of Rochester, Minnesota, initally diagnosed with chronic ulcerative colitis (CUC) between 1935 and 1979. Twenty five (13.7%) had a proctocolectomy during the course of follow up. Three patients developed colorectal adenocarcinoma aft...